Headphone recommendation for Rock/Guitar Music on PC.

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I mainly listen to hard rock/guitar music on my pc (soundblaster 5.1
soundcard with sennheiser mx500 headphones plugged in to SBS52
Speakers).

I borrowed a pair of Sennheiser HD580's and just plugged them into the
speakers and then into the soundcard and I have to say I wasn't
impressed at all. I've been told this was probably because I didn't use
a headphone amplifier. Would this make a such big difference? One thing
I didn't like about the HD580's was if the volume was turned up other
people would be able to hear. I like to relax to I'm listening to music
and wouldn't feel comfortable with the HD580's at 1am (thin walls +
hard rock and all that).

So, I suppose I'll have to look for a different Headphone, and a
Headphone amplifier.
The reason I'm sticking to listening to music on a PC is that I'm going
using Microsoft Media Center Edition for all my media so I thought I'd
upgrade my sound as well.

What headphones do you recommened?
Do I really need an amplifier and if so what one should I get? Will any
amplifier do or should I be looking at quality here as well?
Should I upgrade my sound card as well to say an Audigy 2 or 4?

thanks in advance
JimBob

[Arny Krueger]

> wrote in message
oups.com...

>I mainly listen to hard rock/guitar music on my pc (soundblaster 5.1
> soundcard with sennheiser mx500 headphones plugged in to SBS52
> Speakers).

> I borrowed a pair of Sennheiser HD580's and just plugged them into the
> speakers and then into the soundcard and I have to say I wasn't
> impressed at all. I've been told this was probably because I didn't use
> a headphone amplifier. Would this make a such big difference?

The OEM Soundblaster cards only put out about 1 volt rms, which is on the
weak side for HD 580s.

An entry-level headphone amp for soundcard would be the Boostaroo or the
Radio Shack clone of it. About $25 and about 4-5 dB more output.

> One thing
> I didn't like about the HD580's was if the volume was turned up other
> people would be able to hear.

That comes with the open ear design. The HD 580s are arguably one of the
most comfortable headphones around, but that comes at a price which you've
just pointed out.

If you want more isolation look at enclosed earpiece headphones or in-ear
monitors.

For rock, Sony MDR 7506s are worth a listen, but they need about as much
voltage as HD 580s.

[dave weil]

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:47:21 -0500, "Arny Krueger" >
wrote:

>An entry-level headphone amp for soundcard would be the Boostaroo or the
>Radio Shack clone of it. About $25 and about 4-5 dB more output.

And the Boosteroo does quite well. Plus, you've got jacks for 3
headphones total, although that's just a side benefit.

Works great for portable devices as well (basically what it was
designed for).

[Mike]

AKG 240s are what studios use. I would get those.



On 16 Jan 2006 06:37:24 -0800, wrote:

>I mainly listen to hard rock/guitar music on my pc (soundblaster 5.1
>soundcard with sennheiser mx500 headphones plugged in to SBS52
>Speakers).
>
>I borrowed a pair of Sennheiser HD580's and just plugged them into the
>speakers and then into the soundcard and I have to say I wasn't
>impressed at all. I've been told this was probably because I didn't use
>a headphone amplifier. Would this make a such big difference? One thing
>I didn't like about the HD580's was if the volume was turned up other
>people would be able to hear. I like to relax to I'm listening to music
>and wouldn't feel comfortable with the HD580's at 1am (thin walls +
>hard rock and all that).
>
>So, I suppose I'll have to look for a different Headphone, and a
>Headphone amplifier.
>The reason I'm sticking to listening to music on a PC is that I'm going
>using Microsoft Media Center Edition for all my media so I thought I'd
>upgrade my sound as well.
>
>What headphones do you recommened?
>Do I really need an amplifier and if so what one should I get? Will any
>amplifier do or should I be looking at quality here as well?
>Should I upgrade my sound card as well to say an Audigy 2 or 4?
>
>thanks in advance
>JimBob


Regards

Mike